US justices cast doubt on Vermont healthcare data law

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday indicated that Vermont and 17 other states could be prevented from collecting healthcare details from certain employee health plan administrators.

Kritchanut

The nine justices heard a one-hour oral argument over whether the 2005 Vermont data collection law aimed at improving the quality of healthcare applies to self-funded insurance plans, which are most commonly used by large companies.

Medical claims

The data includes such information as the type of healthcare services paid for by insurers on medical claims by a patient and how much they paid. One inter-state insurer in particular, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, has objected to the state data collection requests, arguing that the US Employee Retirement Security Act exempts it from such requirements. The company said the federal law is intended to protect employers from a patchwork of state regulations.